


New Life from Dying Embers

by Foxberry



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Firebending & Firebenders, Firestarter Keith, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Witch Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22221820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxberry/pseuds/Foxberry
Summary: Shiro, the lunar witch of the mountains, finds his world turned upside down after he finds a man lying in the middle of a wildfire that surrounds his home. As strange as he is, it's stranger still what Shiro begins to feel.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	1. Not Here To Hurt You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rollingjules](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rollingjules/gifts).



> Super late reward fic for a donation from a while back. So sorry it's late.
> 
> I've been beating myself up for not being able to write this for a long time and really got stuck on it. So, I'm going to post in chapters until it's done! (I've been editing this for 3 months ><)
> 
> The topic itself has been quite hard since what's going on at home right now, but it's helped give me the motivation I've not had for writing in a long time.

The scent of burning trees had hung in the air for weeks, creating the haze that had smeared across the sky and painted the world grey. In the midst of the smoke clouds lay a modest cabin. Built of pine and nails and cracks, a sliver of magic holding it all together, it stood on the face of the mountain in a clearing halfway to the peak. A safe haven from the world at the foothills. It was the warm and welcoming home of the lunar witch of the mountains, Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane.

He’d taken to the mountain to practice his craft, to divine something from the forest of pine, where moonlight would caress and dust the tips of the trees and cast elongated shadows along the ground. Yet tonight, while the haze grew thicker and clouds veiled the moon, the warm orange beacon on the horizon drew his gaze.

As the sun set it grew brighter, sparks of light floated into the sky, a forest ablaze where the flame licked the clouds above. The night filled with smoke, crawling up the mountain and filling his lungs as it sent the wildlife of the forest fleeing. If creatures were leaving their homes, it would not be long before he would need to leave his own.

Shiro took off for the forest, striding down the mountain side, and muttering protective spells under his breath. He could only hope he would not need them, not when the source of his power lay hidden behind a billowing curtain of smoke and ash. He’d hoped that the haze would pass, that the light of the moon would peek through once again, that he might be blessed to look up at the moon at night. No matter of breeze or time could clear the air and as the smoke lingered, he worried for the health of his garden and prayed the sky would clear.

Retreating to the mountains was meant to be a return to nature, to surround himself with it, to grow his own herbs and fruits and vegetables, and now the fires threatened his very livelihood. Fires were to be expected, but the season was not due for at least 2 moons. There was likely something strange behind this encroaching disaster.

Armed with little more than his wits and magic runes up his sleeves, Shiro ran deep into the forest, covering his mouth and sometimes his eyes with a raised arm. The crackling of the forest ablaze surrounded him within seconds, towers of flame and charcoal replacing each tree one by one. Spluttering and coughing, he ran into the first clearing, jumping over fallen trees and squinting through the tears in his eyes.

He couldn’t explain why he felt so drawn to this place. There were no creatures in sight that needed his help. There was little he could do without the moon to shine upon him, and yet, the runes up his arm ached and glowed. Usually a sign of warning, it felt warm, not cool or hot, but like a pleasant grip pulling him into the middle of potential danger. This could either bode well or have him regret his impulsive actions.

Yet once he turned around, wiping his eyes and clearing his throat, he found his answer: a man lying further off in the clearing, black hair and darker clothes, covered with soot and dirt. Shiro took less than a second in making his decision to rush forward and gather the stranger up into his arms. He was limp, clearly exhausted, and miraculously not a hair on him was singed. Shiro knew he was meant to take him home.

With the man slung over his shoulder, Shiro headed back up the mountain, dodging the heat at every step. Without his magic, without the moon above, he was powerless to stop the threat to his home, but with the protection spell it might just be enough. If anything, he would have this stranger to save and nurse back to health if need be. It wasn't a lot but it would be enough to do his part. He could do more once the fires died down.

Shiro lay the stranger out on his bed and surveyed over his well worn clothes. No item of clothing looked like it was younger than the man wearing them. They were likely borrowed, given, or perhaps--given the state they were in--stolen. If he'd gone and brought a thief into his house, Shiro would need to adjust his runes if that was what they had drawn him to.

"Hey," he called out, keeping his distance and frowning at what he'd gotten himself into. This may have been a rescue, but it was just as much as risk to his way of life. He would not help a thief if he could help it. "Are you okay?" He kept his voice soft but stern and nudged the stranger's side, rolling him onto his back.

All the stranger did was croak a mixture of a hum and a groan. Perhaps his voice was hoarse, weathered by the polluted air. There was no telling how long he had been lying there breathing every particle into his lungs. Smoke inhalation may have already done enough damage that Shiro's presence meant nothing. He would need to be sure… without revealing his powers.

The outside world didn't take kindly to those with special gifts. He'd learned that the hard way when he'd been tackled and scarred by ordinary folk. The scars still ran up his arm. No matter of runes could hide what they had done. Thankfully their attempts to remove the marks of who he was from his body had been unsuccessful, but they'd achieved something far more potent in their violence: setting a deep distrust of ordinary men in his heart.

"If you're awake... tell me now." The warning fell flat. The man didn't answer. It was a good a sign as any considering the world outside was burning. "Don't move... I'm... gonna help, or try to... hopefully." Raising his hands above the stranger's body, Shiro closed his eyes and focussed. He might not have the moon, but he could channel it from memory. His runes on his arm allowed him that much, even with the shiny scars that ran through them.

With no sign of movement or consciousness, Shiro willed himself to focus, find the essence within the man and isolate it. Warm light with a tingling sense of familiarity ran through him, through the stranger, meeting with colours he could see in the back of his mind. He could taste iron on his tongue, mixed with the smoky taste of ash. He could hear the crackling of the fire outside even though inside the cabin was filled with silence.

The longer he lingered, swaying the man's essence, checking for injury and disturbance in his being, the hotter it became. Like holding his fingers to a flame, the sensation grew warmer then hotter, feeling like he was about to singe his fingers until he finally pulled away. "Hah! Hah... the f--" Shiro held himself back from cursing. He was better than that, over something so strange as burning his fingers. He'd never felt an essence like it.

"Nnnnhhh," the man groaned, rolling over and revealing his ash-coated face beneath his dark locks. He was not unattractive, with soft features and pointed chin. His eyelashes fluttered open to reveal greyish eyes with a glint of purple. They were unlike anything Shiro had ever seen. Yet before he could truly appreciate the swirl of colour with them, the flicker of consciousness, realisation, and sudden fear flickered in the man's eyes.

"Wh-wh--" The man stuttered as his eyebrows shot up and he jerked back. His body practically floundered to get away, pulling back across the bed, sheets dragging with him. The look in his eyes was one of unmistakable fear. His hands threw up in front of him as he moved to sit up, kicking his feet against the bed to push himself against the wall. His hands clenched into the sheets. His voice warbled, rough and harsh and too afraid to be demanding. "Don't touch me!"

Shiro gently reached out his hand to bridge the gap between them. He tried to calm himself. For all he knew this man feared him for his magic. He'd seen it more than once after all. "I'm not here to hurt you..." Shiro forced a smile onto his face to show he meant no harm. He'd forgotten how hard it had been in the cities, seeing the look in the eyes of ordinary people. It all swarmed back into his head.

The man frowned and pulled a face. He narrowed his eyes, sizing Shiro up and down. "Are you sure about that?" A hint of a sneer took to his face, his hands clenching and pulling the sheets back to him for protection or comfort. "What were you doing?" His voice while shaken still came through blunt, accusatory, genuine. Perhaps he didn't know what he saw.

Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, Takaski gestured with his hands, trying his best to connect with this stranger. "Checking to see you were okay--" He stepped closer, nodding encouragingly as if he approached a wounded animal. He would be okay. This man didn't know what he was, or didn't seem to. If he could just make sure he stayed calm then he wouldn't be a threat, but as he got closer, the fabric in the man's fists began to smoulder.

"Don't come near me!" the man yelled, shoulders hunching, body shrinking back. "Don't touch me!" The smoke snaking up into the air from between his fingers grew thicker, blacker, and as the man started huffing and frowning, Shiro could swear he could hear something spark. "Leave me-- hah!" Flames burst into life from the man's hands, igniting the sheets and consuming the fabric, tearing off across the bed, engulfing it like it was made of fire's fuel.

"What?!" Shiro had not prepared for this. Of all of the possibilities he had considered when he found this stranger in the woods, a firestarter had not been one of them. He didn't have time to think or process and simply yelled the first thing that came to his head. "Move!"

"I'm not-- I didn't mean--" The stranger hesitated, staring at the flame, the purple in his eyes lit up with a bright glow. He shrugged his shoulders, shrinking into himself, hurt and dejected. Guilt took to his face like the glow of moonlight, leaving slivers of emotion to light his features, making lines where no lines ran. Yet he made no move to get away. The fire would engulf him too if he stayed put.

Shiro waved for him to move. "Get away from the fire!" He knew little about firestarters but their magic was different than what he knew. Fire magic was the stuff of days, of burning suns and warm summers. Shiro's magic was the stuff of nights, of phasing moons and cool autumns. It was the furthest reach from his own knowledge, but he knew he could halt the blaze in its tracks, if only the stranger would move.

"R-right." The stranger jumped up, dodging and jumping his way through the flame. Smoke filled the cabin, gathering at the ceiling and gracing the walls, but this man did not seem to be bothered. Perhaps his lungs were blessed with the skill to breath smoke and ash. There were no true way to tell but ask the mysterious stranger that he'd brought into his home.

Nodding, Shiro raised his hands and focused on the fire. He gave the stranger a warning look from the corner of his eye before he closed them completely. He couldn't trust this man in his home, but he could trust him enough to put out this fire without watching him.

Whispered words passed his lips, an incantation almost forgotten and rarely used, taking the breath from the flame itself. Crackling faded and the heat in the room disappeared, the warm light of the fire snuffed out by Shiro's focus. Once he could feel it no more, he opened his eyes and relaxed his body, arms falling back to his sides. He had avoided a larger catastrophe while exposing himself to a complete stranger. That would not bode well.

"Who are you?" he asked immediately, staring at the scorch marks and burns over his bed and the walls behind it. Accusations fought in his mind to see the light of day, to be tasted on his tongue, but died before they could hit the already thick air. "What are you?" As much as he hated that question, Shiro needed to know. Either this stranger was a witch himself or something potentially more sinister, someone that was hired to find him.

The man didn't answer at first, hands clawing at his clothes and checking for damage, finding none. His surprise did not go unnoticed. The lack of alarm at such sudden combustion made him all the more questionable, yet he never seemed to question his own apparent abilities. As far as Shiro could tell, he'd not been the deliberate cause of something so... destructive. It would make sense.

When the man had brushed enough of the singed fabric from his chest, he peered up with an awkward smile, lips twitching. "I'm... Keith..." he answered with a quiet voice and promptly crossed his arms. His smile faded to a frown. "And what I am is no importance to you." His eyes narrow. "You were... doing something to me."

Shiro took a step back and frowned himself. The last thing he needed was some stranger in his cabin indirectly threatening him while the world outside burned. "I was healing you." He gestured at Keith's body, unable to articulate in his frustration that he'd saved the man from possible smoke inhalation. "You were out in the middle of a forest fire. Do you honestly not remember that?"

The strange man named Keith hurried to the window, staring with wide eyes. The orange glow lit up his eyes, sparking a look of fascination and awe that Shiro hadn't seen in a long time. His mouth opened but no words fell from his lips. Instead he cast a glance at Shiro and frowned again.

"Did you mean to set the forest ablaze?" Shiro asked carefully. Fire magic was unpredictable as flame itself. If he said too much or sparked some emotion in this man, he could risk his home, his livelihood, his very well-being. There was no telling what he could do. If he felt threatened enough to set fire to things around him then it was likely he could be next.

Keith looked Shiro over, a long distrusting gaze if there ever was one. "I don't have to answer you." The heat in the room sparked and for a moment it felt the fire hadn't gone out, a hint of smoke lingering in the air like incense that had long since finishing burning. "I don't know you. I don't know who you are."

Shiro frowned and crossed his arms, regretting the action immediately for tying up his hands. If he needed them for spell work, he would not be able to react quickly. Words would need to aid him. "I could say the same about you," he tossed back with a cautious tone. "I let you into my home... after finding you in the woods and this..."

"You could've just left me there," Keith grunted. The pout of his lips spoke of tales that he knew, instances of abandonment that sank beneath the skin. Yet the rasp to his voice, the hint of emotion rubbing his voice raw, could not be ignored. "Any reasonable person would have left me there. You didn't have to..."

Shiro nodded once, slowly, staring at the ground. "And yet here we are..." His words ended in silence like a spell had passed his lips and moments passed in the thick tense air between them. The smell of smoke still clung to the room.

With a sigh, Shiro broke the silence and turned his attention to the window. "It doesn't look like it'll reach us any time soon." He glanced back over his shoulder and eyed Keith. He was worn down by stress and exhaustion, running on pure adrenaline and the stubborn desire to cling to consciousness. "Sleep." He turned back to watch the blaze outside and sighed, muttering, "I'll keep watch."

"You.." Keith began, ready to fight but his voice was already weaker. He knew he could not win that battle here. The moment Shiro had turned his back, had indicated he was no threat, was the moment Keith had no fight left in him.

"Sleep."

Shiro stood watch as the fire flickered throughout the night. There was little to be done now that it had spread so far. By some stroke of luck, the wind drove it west, circling around the mountain. Shiro suspected his protection spell had worked.


	2. My Bed Is Yours

  
When the sun rose the next morning, a smoky haze was all that remained, covering the sky. Sunlight peaked through the clouds of grey and white, highlighting the remaining green pastures over the mountainside. What was lost would grow again. Shiro would see to that.

"Did you sleep at all?" Keith's voice called out from the bed, making Shiro jump at the sudden voice in the silence. "When you said you'd keep watch I didn't think you'd..."

"I slept," Shiro reassured, relaxing his posture before turning away from the window. "Not much, but some." His eyes read over Keith's body. He was not injured and no longer a scared cat in his presence, but suspicion still sat in him. "You stirred in your sleep. I suspect your dreams were unpleasant?"

"I..." Keith's mouth opened to form more words but nothing came out, staring back, lips parted. Doubt traced along his eyebrows, drawing them in. Something akin to worry and surprise followed before he finally answered, "That's nothing that you need to know."

"Perhaps not."   
  
Shiro excused himself briefly to gather a selection of berries and nuts from his kitchen and presented them on a small plate fashioned from copper. "Eat up. You will need your strength."

"What for?" Once again suspicion tinted Keith's tone. His lips fell into a frown. "You don't need to feed me. I'm perfectly capable of finding my own food."

Shiro raised an eyebrow and settled down on his lounge chair in the corner. "You see my kindness as an insult?" Crossing his legs, he considered his actions carefully and found himself concerned and confused. He'd been nothing but hospitable as witches were known to be. At least in the right circles.

"What?!" Keith spat back and laughed awkwardly. He scratched at his neck then his shoulder before giving up on his arms and crossing them with a self-conscious shrug. "No... No?" He smiled an apologetic smile. "I simply meant--"

Shiro considered the extent of his cottage: the rug on the floor by the bed, the small table by the windows at the other wall, the kitchen tucked into the far corner, separated by only a small wall. He wondered how long he had lived like this, so alone, and deflected the thought by asking Keith something else on his mind, "When was the last time you had... human... company?"

Keith tilted his head and shifted his legs off the end of the bed. "What are you saying?" His hands rested on his knees, his eyes fixated on his feet. The more that he spoke, the more Shiro could tell he'd not been around someone else in a long time. Let alone anyone who actually _asked_ him anything about himself.

"You are clearly a firestarter..." Shiro began and stopped to reconsider what he was asking in the first place. It wasn't his place to question what had brought this man here or make a point of bringing up his issues. He had enough of his own after all.

"Look, I-- I can explain--" Keith blurted out and sighed, shaking his head like he wished to shake the doubts from his mind. His black hair swished through the air and caught glimpses of light, red shining in the depths of his dark locks. Magic imbued if Shiro had ever seen it. 

Tilting his head, Shiro challenged the man, clicking his tongue with impatience. "How do you normally explain your... outbursts?" He raised an eyebrow with a sly smile. "You think I can't tell what I'm seeing with my own eyes?"

Keith froze, mouth parted for a long moment before he answered, "No... but... I..." For as defensive as his new guest was, Shiro was sure that he was more skittish and uncertain out of fear of being exposed for _what_ he was.

"When was the last time you weren’t alone?" Shiro asked, peering over the man’s body. A firestarter was as welcome as a witch amongst humans, the ‘normal’ folk. The ability to burn things at will or the heightening of emotions was impossible to hide… at least without training.

Keith paused, the heat in the room rising, searing the air like they were sitting next to a fire in the hearth that had been fed too much kindling. "I don't remember." 

Shiro grew quiet. If he gave Keith time to speak, perhaps he would, perhaps he would open up and express what was on his mind. Though he had every reason not to. The world was not a place where one could trust strangers. Shiro could at least give him the choice.

"I don't belong there. People... humans... are..." he trailed off, defeated. The air around them cooled, the warmth disappearing into the walls.

Shiro didn’t need to hear the rest of what Keith was saying to understand. "Difficult,” he offered to complete the sentence.

"Exactly." His eyes brightened. "No one understands what it's like to be able to just... to be... _dangerous_." The glint, while fierce as the forest fire, hid a likely history of rejection. It was a look he had seen so many times but never one so dispirited.

Shiro sighed and nodded slowly. "And are you dangerous?" he asked with a hint of challenge in his voice. He'd seen so many dangerous things in the world and Keith barely ranked against them. There were more men in those woods that were chasing after people like him, people like both of them, that were far more dangerous.

Keith gaped. The confusion flashed across his face from the widening of his pupils to the parting of his lips. In his disbelief, he tripped on his words. "Y-You didn't s-see that?! You nearly... I..."

"Set the forest on fire." Shiro knew better than to push a firestarter and yet the words rolled off his tongue easily, matter-of-fact, absent of accusation for something that was so clearly Keith's doing.

Freezing, Keith's shoulder hunched and his body curled in, limbs drawing closer to his body like he was trying to protect himself. "Not intentionally!" The hint of hurt in his voice didn't go unnoticed.

Tilting his head, Shiro wondered how much this man had been through. He wasn't worn down on the outside bar for his clothes and yet his eyes and his smile spoke of hurt beneath the surface. The fear was there.

"So you can't control it?" Shiro asked pointedly, leaning back to give them both distance.

Keith's eyes darted away. "Not exactly?" He wrung his hands in front of him, turning them over to stare at his palms.

"Then what exactly _can_ you do?" It sounded far more harsh than he had intended, but Shiro had wondered. Firestarter powers ranged from the smallest flicker of candlelight to blazing forest fires. So far Keith had shown himself to fit into the latter category with how quickly the fire had grown.

"I've... I..." Like a cautious cat, Keith shuffled to the furthest corner of the bed. His tone turned from confused to defensive. "Why are _you_ asking me so many questions? Why aren't you freaked out? What is that _thing_ you do with your hands?! You're not human either, are you?"

Shiro should have expected this. He'd pushed and now he was being pushed back. "I am not, no... well... as much as witches _can_ be human." The runes on his arms shimmered like stone glimpsed by moonlight. He possessed enough magic to make them glow when he needed, even if that meant only for show.

"Witch." The word fell from Keith's tongue like a drop of honey from a spoon, slow and rich with a hint of sweetness. It was not so much an accusation as a realisation. Shiro swallowed the dryness in his throat and brushed away the idea of how much he liked the sound of Keith's voice. He replied in kind, soft and knowing, "Firestarter..."

"Technically we're elementals... half-elementals..." Keith shrugged, crossing his arms while he tilted his head to the side. While it softened his stance, he appeared as tense as moments before.

"So that's..." Shiro had never heard of half-elementals. There were tales of elementals mingling with humans but to find a hybrid was unheard of, exceptionally rare.

Keith shrugged and somehow their conversation about the magic in his world felt all the more mundane. "Yeah... you don't exactly make friends with people if you set their house, their clothes, their... _everything_ on fire?"

Shiro frowned. He could only imagine how many times Keith had gone through the cycle of thinking he knew his powers only for yet another fire incident. Clearing his throat he started to ask, "Is there someone you can..."

"Stay with? Go to? No..." Keith interrupted him, seemingly ready for the question, one he had likely heard too many times before.

Shiro watched the way Keith's expression fell and with a shrug he offered the little he could. "I don't have much room in my meagre cottage, but if you needed somewhere..." His eyes traced over the soft features of the man's face and found himself smiling. "My bed is yours."

"And where would you sleep?" Keith asked, concerned, moving up off the bed. "I can't just... take the whole thing... to myself..."  
  
Shiro shifted his weight, leaning more heavily against the arm of the chair. “Perhaps I should get some rest. The fires outside are still burning and I will need my strength.”   
  
“It’s all yours…” Keith retreated to a wooden chair in the corner of the cottage, clearly still worn from his journey. His eyes still had the same look of exhaustion from before he slept. It was a wonder he had slept at all.   
  
Shiro moved to his bed with a soft smile, eyeing the singed sheets. “All I ask is that you do not leave this cottage while I sleep.” He raised his hand above the bed, drawing in a breath to feel the magic of the air around him, focussing his energy to his hand. “There is food. I suggest you eat while you can. The market will not be open until tomorrow.”   
  
Keith tilted his head and sighed, eyes never leaving the way Shiro moved his hand in lazy circles. “Are you planning on keeping me here?” His suspicions aren’t entirely unfounded, though it brought a smile to Shiro’s face all the same.   
  
Closing his eyes, he whispered the ancient words. They fell from his tongue like a song of the night, where the trees hushed the creatures of the twilight hours and the earth breathed a sigh before dawn. The runes on his arm glowed, his hand encased with the softest of purples. The bed in turn glowed back, silver and purple, shimmering like a mirage until the singes on the sheets disappeared into the cotton.   
  
“What did you just do?!” Keith marvelled, peeking around Shiro’s form like an excited child might at a fool’s magic trick. Shiro’s magic was nothing like those tricks.   
  
Crawling onto the bed, Shiro lay back, resting his head on his hands that slipped beneath it. “You aren’t surprised that you can conjure fire from nothing and yet my minor magic has you enthralled?” He was teasing of course. The magic of others was always due to draw out curiosity and wonder. Though it had been a long time since he’d earned a reaction like that. It was refreshing.   
  
Shiro turned to his side to watch as Keith stared at his hands, turning them over this way and that. What he was searching for Shiro didn’t know, but he had seen that same look before, the same look of confusion and fear of what one’s hands were capable of.   
  
“You undid what I…” Keith’s brow furrowed. “I’m only good for destruction,

burning things, melting things. It’s a power I don’t want. It hurts everyone.”  
  
Shiro frowned, sighing as he rolled back to stare at the ceiling. “It doesn’t need to be.”   
  
He could hear the sudden shift on the chair, the rustle of the fabric and squeak of the wooden frame beneath. Keith had nothing more to say and the sudden silence had his eyelids growing heavy. The light footsteps around his cabin began to feel soothing and soon let himself drift asleep.


End file.
